In her novel Girl with a pearl earring, Tracey Chevalier, explores many thematic concerns in relation to women, in the 1600s. She explored this through the themes of; the restricted roles of women, the battle of the sexes and Class, money, gender and power, she utilises literary techniques; such as dialogue, first person, exclamation and allusion to convey these themes. In a girl with the pearl earring the protagonist, Griet, is sent to be a maid the artist Johannes Vermeer and his growing family. In this household she becomes close to Vermeer’s work, and eventually the secretive painting of Griet seeps out into the rest of the family and the town beyond.

Chevalier explores the restricted roles of women in a girl with a pearl earring. The traditional roles of women are very much poignant in the novel, as despite Griets artistic tendencies she is condemned to be a butcher's wife, Tanneke forever a maid, and Catherina forever fearful of losing the little power she commands, “I will not have it in my house I will not have it” (Catherina pg.220). The effective use of exclamation, enforces how desperate Catherina really is, in needing to hold on to her power, as the exclamation implies that she id shouting, which can be interpreted as a sign of insecurity. Catherina would have had a reason to be insecure, as she had just been alerted of activity that had been going under her nose. This quote effectively displays the restricted roles of women during this time.

In addition, the restricted roles of women in the novel remind readers of the link between sex and morality, in the 1600s. Griet is notably anxious throughout the novel in protecting her image and not being cast as fallen women, all the while complying with the demands of her master and his patron. After Griet manages to escape a lecherous encounter with the vulgar Van-Ruijven, he retorts with “you know I will have you anyway, when I get that painting” (pg.219). The use of allusion in the quote tells the...

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...Chevalier's enthralling novel, Girl with a pearlEarring ingeniously fuses historical fact and fiction, inviting the reader into the volatile Vermeer household of seventeenth century Delft. Through Chevalier's dutiful protagonist, Griet, the novel presents a gradual progression in her character, from a naïve adolescent indentured as a maid to the painter, Jan Vermeer, to a self-assured woman. Indeed, her interactions with her parents and members of the Vermeer house initially encompass sincerity, however it is not long before the young girl who did not often lie' soon matures in haste, adapting adult behaviours such as manipulation and exploitation of those around her. Griet blatantly manipulates minor characters such as Tanneke, and Pieter. However, an invaluable example that epitomises her deceit of others is her forbidden relationship with Vermeer. Griet selfishly disrupts the house, seducing the master in order to obtain protection, rights, and financial stability. Although Vermeer is left permanently yearning for her affection as shown via the gift of Catharina's prized possessions, the earrings,
Griet's lack of sentimental value for the gift denotes her scheming ways of sacrificing characters for her wellbeing.
By acquiring knowledge to manipulate minor characters such as Tanneke, Griet softens her limitations and obtains security in the challenging Vermeer house. The attractive youth's...

...Feature Article
Forbidden Love
The novel Girl with a PearlEarring should definitely be included on the Novel Ideas book club reading list. Elyshia Hickey reveals why this fascinating, historical and romantic story will appeal to an adolescent audience, as it explores the theme of sensual awakening. Set in 17th century Delft, Chevalier’s novel explores the deep but forbidden love between a young maid and her master. The author’s clever combination of an intriguing story, remarkable characters and descriptive language allowed her to explore the themes of forbidden love, predators and sexual desires.
For hundreds of years people have wondered who is the girl in the portrait Girl with a PearlEarring, painted by a Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in the 17th century and what is the connection between them. This fictional love story by Chevalier explores the sensual relationship between the young lady and the painter. Griet, a seventeen year old girl, narrated the story of her life experiences in the 1600’s, as she transformed from a young girl into a married woman. The narrative structure will appeal to a young adult audience as they will be able to relate to many of Griet’s experiences, especially the encounters she had with men. She was hired as a maid by a rich and famous painter, to help her impoverished family. Vermeer allowed her the...

...The Girl with the PearlEarring
Main characters:
1.) Griet: Griet is a protestant girl from Holland who goes to work as a maid in Vermeer's home after her father has an accident that leaves him blind. She is a young girl with fair skin and blonde hair. She wears the clothes of a servant. She is working to help her family, therefore, is not as submissive as the other servants around her.
2.) Vermeer: Johannes Vermeer is a respected artist in Holland. Known for his perfectionism, he often takes months to complete a painting. In the movie, he is often seen wearing black clothes and a black hat. He has long hair, a common style of the time. Vermeer seems somewhat torn over his lifestyle, and often does things alone. He died at the age of 43.
3.) Catharina: Catharina is the wife of Johannes Vermeer. She is a Catholic and a member of the middle class. At the time of Vermeer's death, she had given birth to 11 children. The movie portrays her as a mean and jealous woman, always suspicious of Johannes' motives with other women.
4.) Maria Thins: Maria is Catharina's mother-in-law. She owns the home that Vermeer, his wife, and all the children live in. She is trying to keep the ever-growing family afloat by keeping Vermeer's patrons happy. She sees that Vermeer is attracted to Griet, and allows them to be around each other so Vermeer can paint. The movie portrays her as a woman who...

...Girl with a PearlEarring -Tracy Chevalier
Genre
The story is told in the first person narrative voice by Griet who is the main protagonist of the plot. She uses an honest and sincere style of writing and this lends an air of realism and authenticity to the story. The style is vivid and descriptive.
Cultural Context
The novel is set in mid seventeenth century in the Netherlands. It deals with a middle class family and their relationship with a young peasant girl who comes from the working classes. The Vermeers are a Catholic family and it is clear that they live a specific area called Papists Corner.Griet’s first impressions of the inside of the Vermeer household is how it is dominated by a great deal of Catholic paintings.
Theme or Issue
Art
At the centre of this story is the famous painting of Vermeer entitled Girl With A PearlEarring. The whole issue of art and its fascination is central to the plot. Vermeer takes a lot of time trying to do his paintings and it is clear that Griet becomes a huge source of inspiration for him in his work. She is sensitive to his nature and his style of painting and facilitates him a lot in his work to such an extent that he manages to finish many paintings.
Poverty/Money
It is because of a lack of money that Griet is forced to work as a serving girl for the Vermeer family. When she begins to earn some money this...

...Sumptuous set design, painstaking cinematography and thoughtful, understated performances make ‘Girl With A PearlEarring’ an aesthetic masterpiece – but dear God is it dull.
It’s based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier but, more significantly than that, the book itself tells the story behind a painting by brush-brandishing Dutchman Johannes Vermeer. And not a very interesting story either, it has to be said.
Rent-a-thesp Colin Firth plays Vermeer, who takes a break from the clogs, windmills and whore-patrolled waterways of 17th Century Holland to paint humble housemaid Griet (a perfectly-cast Scarlett Johansson, of Lost In Translation fame). You wouldn’t think there’d be many problems with that – only Vermeer’s missus Catharina (Essie Davis) doesn’t quite see things that way. In short, she thinks the pair of them are at it, and we can rest assured the gouache is going to hit the fan when she finally decides to put her foot down.
Not much happens in ‘Girl With A PearlEarring’. There’s lots of sneaking around, lots of gazing longingly in the direction of nothing in particular, and the unintentionally-comical sight of Cillian (28 Days Later) Murphy going about dressed as what appears to be a little pixie.
What it basically boils down to is that the plot has neither the depth nor the interest to match the production values. It could even be said that the film is much like the...

...One of Johannes Vermeer’s mysterious artworks which are universally recognized is the Girl with a PearlEarring. This piece of artwork still poses a few unanswered questions and wonders after more than a century of studies.
The identity of the sitter in the portrait, who is she? What significance did the pearlearring have? When was the exact date of the painting?
Vermeer was born and raised in the Dutch town, Delft and began his genre paintings in the late 1650s. Although Vermeer produced only 36 paintings in his lifetime, he had a different approach to his artworks. Dutch paintings were very popular as it captures the everyday experiences and the affection of the land and homes in the town. Paintings celebrate and record the facts of life enhancing the intense consideration of warmth and cooler qualities of light. Vermeer adapted the expressive scenes taking on a timeless presence to impart them as extraordinary dignity and moral gravity.
Girl with a PearlEarring has been called as The Dutch Mona Lisa during the Golden Age. She is young, delicate and has an appealing and questioning look on her face with her head slightly turned towards us. She is wearing a rich golden robe with a white collar, a blue turban with yellow falling behind her. She is set against a dark defined background which dominates the space of the scene.
Vermeer discovered the skill...

...GIRL WITH A PEARLEARRING
By Tracy Chevalier
Tracy Chevalier was born 1962 in Washington D.C. When Chevalier was 22 she moved to London and married a man and now-a-days got two children with. In 1993 she left her job as a publisher and began study creative writing at the university. The same year she wrote her first novel called "The virgin blue" which was published 1997  it sold very few copies. Her next book  "Girl with apearlearring" sold better and became her breakthrough. Girl with a pearlearring became very popular in both Europe and USA, it has also been filmed with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth as the main characters (Griet and Vermeer).
"A girl with pearlearring" is the fiction behind the 178uth-century painting by Johannes Vermeer. Griet, a sixteen year old girl, have to take a job as maid in a Catholic home after her own family being bankrupt. Griet are very good at keeping things at its place and to remember certain things, so that her blind father wouldn't be confused. In the family Griet arrives to she got to take care of the laundry and cooking but of all the most important in her daily chores is to keep the artist father in of the family (who is very finicky) things in order; there-by Griets competent in keeping things in order is a plus. The whole story...

...Connected texts study:
My Novel
Title: Girl with a Pearl Earing
Author: Tracy Chevalier
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher 1999
Entry 1
Why I chose this novel:
“Girl with a PearlEarring” is a classic novel that I have never had the chance to read and is something I have always wanted to. For my first novel I read “The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo” in which one of the main characters Lisabeth is portrayed as quite a heroic woman and I think it would be interesting to compare her with the Girl with a pearlearring. I also enjoy reading books set during renaissance which made the novel more appealing.
The Cover:
The central focus of the cover is the painting of a girl with the girl with the pear earing. This is an old famous painting by the artist Johannes Vermeer. It is a very striking and bold picture that uses deep rich colours, and the girls wide eyes seem to stare at you. The painting is very striking so in turn it is quite a striking cover for a book that would stand out amongst many others. Underneath the girl is a small painting of an old fashion European looking town with a river, this gives an idea of where the book will be set and the time period. The novel does not have a blurb so it leaves the reader a mystery on its contents. Instead the novel has a list of high...